Man caught driving wrong way on expressway said he was going back the way he came

On Sept 22 at around 10:40 a.m., a 77-year-old man was caught driving at high speed in the wrong direction along the Takamatsu Expressway in Kagawa Prefecture. According to police, the unidentified man was trying to retrace his steps after traveling one kilometer the wrong way.

The man reportedly said he was trying to return to his home in Kochi Prefecture but missed the off-ramp. After driving about a kilometer too far he stopped at Toyohama Service Area to regain his bearings. Then, realizing his mistake, he followed the same path back to the junction.

Unfortunately, he followed it too closely and was driving in the exact same lane but facing the opposite way. During this trip, an accident was caused involving cars driven by a 60-year-old woman and 36-year-old man. The woman driver had to stop suddenly to avoid the backwards driver and was rear-ended by the younger male driver.

According to the police, the man later said he “didn’t notice” he was going in the wrong direction.

I can only imagine the road was completely desserted, and being a bit old, he forgot he was on a tollway, and thought it was just a regular road. I am guessing he was on the left-hand lane, doing 40-50km hr when he realised cars were going the other way

Unfortunately, he followed it too closely and was driving in the exact same lane but facing the opposite way. During this trip, an accident was caused involving cars driven by a 60-year-old woman and 36-year-old man. The woman driver had to stop suddenly to avoid the backwards driver and was rear-ended by the younger male driver.

This whole paragraph is just plain awkward and confusing. Was the man actually driving his car backwards or driving in the opposite direction of traffic?

Wrong-way driving happens all over the world. Not only in Japan. In Europe they call these drivers ghost drivers in some places. My dad voluntarily quit driving when 75 before he did something from where there was no return. But not everyone gives up so easily.

During this trip, an accident was caused involving cars driven by a 60-year-old woman and 36-year-old man. The woman driver had to stop suddenly to avoid the backwards driver and was rear-ended by the younger male driver.

... the old guy wasn't responsible for the accident, the male driver was 100% responsible for not having an adequate following distance. The woman could have stopped for any number of legitimate reasons.

Unless it causes an accident, driving the wrong way on an expressway is not a traffic violation in Japan. (no fines, no demerit points).

Wrong! 9000 yen and 2 points (for passenger car).
Penalty for driving the wrong direction is not limited to expressways.
Same applies for driving on the right side of the center line.
(Article 17 of the road traffic law)
What is your source for saying this is not a violation??

I saw it happen with my own eyes the weekend before last, I was going to bring MIL her Keiro no Hi flowers and I went up the Awaji onramp and headed up the curve to the toll booths....looked over to my right and there was an older man and his wife heading to the toll booths on the other side of the barrier. I was just about to honk when I saw that they realized they were in the wrong side of the road. I motioned to them that they should move to the left, and they saw the gap before the tool booth and came over onto the correct side.

Here we go again, 77 year old causing accidents, mayhem, is national news, 27 year old man would be in the crime section. Remember this post it will be deleted by the morning I suspect.
Something really needs to be done here about these old farts driving, I see this nonsense on a daily basis, not just on the highway, but in the inaka.

presto345; your father took a sensible decision for quitting the driving, but i think there is no age limit in japan for driving or even for heavy or dangerous work at same places, i have seen senior citizens at work places, which is never suit them. But you know this is a trend establish by the Authority to push senior citizens and even housewives to the work poll.